Mary is part Vietnamese. Carter is a complete jerk. Normally, they don't talk much.

But when Mary's in an accident on the way to school one morning, Carter nearly dies saving her life. The doctors say his chances of living are slim, and Mary's feeling the full weight of survivor's guilt.

However, Carter's back at school in a matter of days, as if nothing had happened. Although, he is a little "glitchy," and he's developed a sudden and intense interest in Mary. She thinks he's suffering from major brain trauma from the accident. Or that he's been possessed.

As it so happens, Carter really is possessed. And the thing controlling him is having the time of its life learning to be human.

Featuring a diverse cast of characters, RADIANT is a funny "paranormal-lite" story about being human, being in love, and being healed.

Excerpt
1 from Radiant

A
voice called to her. It seemed close, and it was getting louder as
the pain got sharper. "Hey? Hey! Are you all right?" it
asked.

Mary
blinked several times before she could finally see again. She was in
the middle of the street. The cars had stopped and people on the
sidewalk were staring.

"Are
you all right?" the voice asked again. It was coming from a man
wearing some type of uniform.

"Careful,"
he said as he helped her up. "Looks like you can move all right.
Here, let's get you out of the street."

He
helped her over to the sidewalk. "Stay here. Someone's calling
the paramedics." And then he was gone.

Mary
sat there, still in a daze. She started noticing familiar stuff all
over the ground—an open book bag, books, folders, unused tampons, a
shoe, and an apple with one bite mark. Her eyes followed the trail of
debris to a brilliant red sports car, half of which was smashed in by
a city bus.

What
had happened? Mary studied the whole scene, trying to puzzle together
the pieces. Then it dawned on her. The car had hit her. Not
intentionally. She had run in front of the bus without knowing it. It
was about to hit her, but the car had gotten in the way first. It had
saved her life.

Mary
thought about looking in the car. Then her feet sorta moved without
her meaning them to, and she made her way to the passenger door. She
recognized the person inside. Carter. She knew his last name, but she
couldn't think of what it was. He was slumped over the seat with
blood oozing all over his face. His eyes were shut.

Mary
knocked on the window. The tears in her hand stung.

No
response.

She
beat the window with her fist.

Still
nothing.

Mary
stared. She couldn't believe it. On any other day, she wouldn't
exchange two words with this guy. Just yesterday, he nearly mowed
down an elderly couple while driving out of the school lot. Mary had
secretly wished he'd be taught a lesson. But she didn't mean this.

She
tried the door handle, but it was still locked. Suddenly, Carter's
eyes flickered opened. He looked straight at her.

Mary
gasped and pressed her face against the window.

Carter's
eyes closed.

She
stared at him, waiting for him to open them again. Waiting for any
sign of life. But he was still like he was before.

Hands
suddenly took hold of Mary, pulling her away from the car. Her feet
moved on their own again. Someone was yelling "Miss" a lot.
Parts of her brain found other noises too, like sirens, voices,
beeping, and other things. The hands directed her to sit on something
hard and cold.

"Miss?
Can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?"

Mary
didn't answer. She still hadn't found her voice, and her mind was
fuzzy, too.

"Is
that her bag there? Does she have a driver's license?"

A
different person spoke. "No license, but I found a student ID.
Her name's Mary Phan. She's seventeen and a junior here at Lewis
Prep."

Mary
heard a third voice. "I just talked with some of the kids on the
sidewalk. One of them said her mom's a nurse at the memorial
hospital."

"Find
out how to contact the mom. Anyone see what happened?"

"Cops
are questioning witnesses right now. Looks like she ran in front of
the bus. It would've nailed her if that sportster hadn't gotten in
the way."

"Anything
on the bus or the driver of the car?"

"Everyone
on the bus looks fine. The car belongs to a kid named Carter Maxwell.
Also a junior." A sigh. "I wouldn't hold my breath. He
looks really bad in there."

Mary
tuned out everything else. All sights. All sounds. The only thing she
could see in her mind was Carter staring at her.

Christina Daley made her first book with neighborhood friends when she was four years old. They "wrote" out some semblance of lettering with crayons, cut up a cardboard box for the cover, and bound it all together with clear adhesive tape. It was brilliant.Quite a few years later, Christina is trying her hand at writing "real" books. She lives in Dallas, Texas, with a pet plant named Herb.

advertise on word spelunking

Search This Blog

Connect With Me

Follow by Email

Welcome

Welcome to my little square on the disco dance floor of life! It's good to have you here. Come in and dance a little boogie, shake your little booty, and get ready to talk books! My name is Aeicha and I'm a proud Supernatural and Harry Potter fangirl, and my literary soulmate is Lauren Myracle. Please email, tweet, or Facebook me (visit my Contact Me page to learn how) with any questions, thoughts, concerns, rambles, delicious cupcake, recipes.If you have a book you'd like me to review please visit my Review Policy page to learn more. I'm always interested in participating in blog tours, hosting giveaways, or conducting author and/or character interviews.

The Most Awesome People in the World: Followers

Page Views

Join the Word Spelunking side...we have Cupcakes!

My Rating System

Five Cupcakes:

I absolutely loved this book! It's the bee's knees, the cat's meow, the squirrel's nuts. It's the double chocolate, frosting smothered, sprinkle covered homemade cupcake on top of the cupcake tower that you crave. You MUST read this book.

Four Cupcakes:

This book is awesome! It's the pretty store bought cupcake that's almost as good as your mom's. You really should read this book.

Three Cupcakes:

This book is very good! It's the cupcake you don't mind eating, but it isn't your favorite. Read it if you have the chance.

Two Cupcakes:

This book failed to impress me. If I were on a plane and had to choose between reading this book and listening to the person next to me talk about their spoon collection, I'd go with the spoons. This is more of a bran muffin than a cupcake. Read it if you want.

One Cupcake:

No amount of frosting or sprinkles could save this cupcake. I don't recommend reading this book.